Widening Participation Impact Pot Will Cooling Widening Participation

Widening Participation Impact Pot Will Cooling Widening Participation Policy Officer www. le. ac. uk

Background • Widening Participation Impact Pot was launched last year • Tasked with funding projects that: – Encourage progression to higher education from underrepresented groups – Improve student retention and academic performance amongst students from underrepresented groups – Improve progression amongst students from underrepresented groups to graduate employment or postgraduate education – Inform the University of Leicester’s approach to widening participation through research

Background • The Widening Participation Impact Pot is already funding seven projects a. b. c. d. Debating Training for Year 12 Students Sample Medicine Day for Year 12 Students Evolutionary Biology Taster Sessions for BME Year 10 Students Supporting Transition To GCSE Geography Through University Year 9 Festival e. Addressing the Male Minority in Undergraduate Psychology f. Wheelchairs for Sport at the University g. Research into the study skills of ROPS/LEAP Students

2015/16 Funding Round • The funding round for 2015/16 is now open. • All applications must be sent to outreach@le. ac. uk by Monday 8 th June. • The application form is largely unchanged but we have tried to make the questions clearer.

Advice to Applicants • Begin as soon as possible – Review existing provision to ensure no duplication – Consult with colleagues to build a broad base for bid – The application will need more than one draft • Provide as much detail as possible – How many participants will be involved – What do you intend to spend the money on – Which staff members will be involved • Liaise with the Widening Participation Impact Pot Steering Group – Asks questions at any stage of putting together you application – If possible, submit drafts of your application

Advice to Applicants • Be SMART when setting objectives – – – Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Timed • This can be difficult when looking at widening participation outreach activities • Try to breakdown objectives so that they can be evaluated – Geography key objective is to get Year 9 pupils to take Geography for GCSE. • We need to be confident that we can evaluate the performance of projects

Advice to Applicants • Tell us a story – Beginning: Outline the problem that you are trying to solve – Middle: Explain why your project would solve the problem – End: Describe how your solution will work in practice • The bids that were successful followed this approach. • For example Sample Medicine: – Beginning: Affluent prospective medical students are buying private tuition to improve their chances of performing well at the interview stage. This therefore hurts the ability of disadvantage young people to stand out in interviews and progress onto Medical School. – Middle: Providing free tuition to disadvantage students will address the inequality identified and support disadvantaged student progression to Medical School by helping them to excel in the interviews. – End: Detailed project plan containing both a draft activity programme and budget.

Case Study: Botanic Gardens • Botanic Gardens submitted two applications – an unsuccessful one in the first funding round a successful one in the second. • The second application improved on the first: – Brought in a wider range of partners – Identified a clear problem (BME progression onto Biological Sciences) – Explained how the activities would address this problem (encouraging students to continue onto A-Level) – Clearly explained how this was an enhancement of existing activity – Provide greater detail about the planned activities

Conclusion • Deadline for applications is Monday 8 th June • Start working on application as soon as possible and consult widely with colleagues • The Widening Participation Impact Pot Steering Group is here to answer your questions and provide feedback on any applications. • Successful applications tell a coherent story: – Outline Problem – Explain why project will solve problem – Describe how project will work in practice

Any Questions Please Email wpworkingrgoup@le. ac. uk